Unexpected is What I Get
by anamaniac0
Summary: In the modern world of the city of Konoha, Sakura is nothing but downright unlucky. When she stumbles upon a certain someone that is...she manages to change her luck and make companions along the way.
1. Kidnapped

Sakura was languid and hungry, and mainly tired of being hungry. The city of Konoha had experienced a major dearth due to the long drought period during spring. The drought ended luckily a week ago, with the beginning of June providing a heavy rainfall. Like all command economies, when demands rise and consumer goods availability are low, prices heavily augment. Unluckily, Sakura isn't made of cash and the prospect of earning a decent wage anytime soon is less than possible. All she knew was that her boss would be mad if she was late for her shift again. Looking at her digital watch, her eyebrows creased in anxiety while she picked up her speed, hardly noticing where she was going. In her ragtag raiment, she walked across the street into an ominous alleyway by accident. The lack of food dulled her senses and she silently swore. _'This is what I get for skipping out on food to save money.' _Before she could turn back an effluvium hit her nose, and her body felt ethereal. She looked around her and everything seemed distorted. _'Wait is this …oh kami no,'_ she lugubriously exclaimed to herself as she started losing her vision. She heard a loud commotion behind her, but quickly forgot. As drowsiness overcame her, she swayed and her eyes became heavy. The last thing she remembered feeling was a soft touch of a hand on her shoulder, supporting her before she gave into the darkness.

Sakura opened her eyes, slowly blinking as her head throbbed slightly. As far as she could gather, this place was definitely not her crammed apartment or the hospital. Instead, she awoke to a spacious pitch black storage area. She managed to sketch out the basic layout of the place in her mind. Rays of sunlight peeked through the shades of a window, allowing her to get a better picture of the place she was held captive. Squinting, she roughly noted that stacks of boxes were messily dispersed about the place. _'Man, it's dark in here, I can barely see a thing'_ She also observed sundry items scattered around as well. Lifting her hand, she felt the ground beneath her shift. Strewn around her was a great heap of straw with one checkered pillow laid on top of it.

As she got up, she noticed there was something beside her. To her felicity, a tray of bread and noodles was laid out. Safety escaped her mind and another thought replaced it. Her goal shifted to permeating her stomach to what it was deprived of, food. In a matter of minutes, she was content after consuming a hearty meal of banal bread and soggy noodles. With the sustenance of the food, Sakura automatically felt rejuvenated. Sakura's happiness was short lived. Alarm bells started ringing a warning in her head; her mind comprehended the direness of the situation. _'I was abducted; I should be looking for a way out n…'_ An exigent cough warned her of another's presence halting her thoughts. Above her was a tall figure with glinting eyes. Sakura gulped, loud enough for the arcane figure to hear. She could hear a soft chuckle.

Onyx eyes settle quietly upon her eyes. A hand comes in gentle contact with her face. She tries to withdraw from him but he persists. He places another hand on the other side of her face and…. Sakura replayed many fantasies meeting her abductor, but couldn't settle on why anyone would go through the trouble to abduct her.

Suddenly fluorescent lights flash on within the building, temporarily blinding her. She slowly blinked repeatedly to get used to the luminous lights. Instead of her daydream onyx eyes, Sakura met amiable blue eyes.

"Ino." The convivial figure states as she offers Sakura help getting up. Sakura is puzzled for a moment before it registered to her that the person had just said her name. While gazing up at the girl, she quickly nodded her head to show she had heard. "What's your name?" the girl confidently asks. Sakura observes the girl looming above her for a moment. From the looks of it, this girl was about the same age as her, seventeen, maybe even eighteen. She possessed the same worn out look as Sakura, yet for the most part she was healthy. Her clothes on the other hand, seemed worn with age, gathering rips along the edge.

'_Gosh this abductor is more perverse than I thought, I mean who would kidnap two indigent girls?' _Before she could complete her assessment of the girl, she felt the girl was looking at her curiously. _'… oh wait didn't she ask me a question?…what's her name again… in … in..'_

"Ino? I-Is that your name?" Sakura dumbly asks.

"Hai, isn't that what I just said? And what is your name, forehead?" She solicits.

Unconsciously Sakura puts a hand to her forehead. _'Ouch. I see someone is unfamiliar with courtesy' _

"Hey! The name's Sakura," Sakura responds curtly, her hand still lingering on her forehead, "W-wait shouldn't we try to get out before whoever kidnapped us comes back?" Sakura nervously added. Ino looked taken aback for a second before she cracked a smile. Ino's blond hair violently thrashed against her back as she broke out laughing. _'Correction snorts.' _All Sakura could do was look dumbfounded as she witnessed Ino laugh like a maniac. '_Maybe the anxiety of the situation broke her… or maybe this girl is crazy. There goes my chance of escaping. Well that is if I ever even had a chance.'_

"I don't understand what's so funny. We shouldn't be wasting our time in here; we have to find a way to get out!" Sakura fumed haughtily not accepting her fate.

"Try..the..front..door.." Ino said in between gasps, still laughing and snorting.

Cautiously, Sakura approached the door and glanced once more at Ino. The girl was practically rolling on the floor. _'Tsk, tsk, tsk, insanity. Ah well I'll just try for the heck of it.' _Sakura placed her hand on the rusty bronze doorknob and turned it. '_And what do you know, it didn't-wait what?' _As she turned and pulled the knob, the door opened effortlessly. She examined the ground and the area outside the door, until she gathered the courage to step out. As she stood there she became puzzled by the fact that she didn't initiate a series of traps, alarms weren't ringing, and no one sprung out from hiding. She then noticed Ino overcame her fit of laughter and was now walking towards Sakura. '_She finally came to her senses' _Expecting Ino to follow her, Sakura walked further on.

"Sakura . . . I'm your kidnapper." Ino stated calmly, stopping Sakura midway.


	2. Mission

Sakura looked blankly at Ino.

"Sakura, I'm your kidnapper." Ino repeated. Sakura, with her mouth agape, allowed the information settle. She simply just stared at Ino.

"Stop staring at me, it's getting creepy Forehead," Ino said after a full three minutes. Sakura's left eye twitched.

"That's creepy? You know what's creepy, someone knocking you out, then being taken to an abandoned warehouse, and now being told you were kidnapped. Now that's creepy!" Sakura yelled at Ino. She continued ranting on and on about human rights and what not for a full fifteen minutes.

As Sakura paused to catch her breath, Ino replied, "Are you done? If you want to leave, the door's right here." Ino then sighed as Sakura remained indifferent and didn't leave.

"Look, I didn't knock you out, some sketchy guy did. I happened to be passing by. As a lone female myself, I felt like I should take action so I did what anyone would do; I kicked him in his private parts." Ino silently laughed to herself as she remembered his reaction when she kicked him down. "By then you were practically passed out; I had to support you with one hand while I pepper sprayed him. After that, he had enough sense to run." Sakura didn't move, instead her upper lip twitched until finally it became a smirk.

"What was that whole 'I'm your kidnapper' thing about then?" Sakura replied trying to sound angry.

"Well if I knew your sense of humor was horrible, I would have never said that," Ino sharply responded. Both of them huffed in unison before looking away from each other. "…twice," Ino added smiling slyly at Sakura. At that comment, Sakura even managed to smile. Now why she smiled was a question she was unable to answer.

"So…," Ino awkwardly says, "what's your story?" she continues. Sakura gave Ino a questioning look. Ino sighed, slumping her shoulders before saying, "you know… life. For the past few days now I've seen you rushing through the downtown area in the middle of the night. Before you ask, I want to make this clear: no, I was not stalking you. I-"

"Yes, because that's exactly what a non-stalker would say." Sakura sarcastically noted. "So what were you doing in the middle of the night?" Ino's eyes became opaque for a moment before shifting to its usual mischief nature.

"Hey, didn't I ask you first?" Ino asks teasingly.

0o0o0o0o0oo0

She bent down and was greeted by the redolence aroma of Ino's makeshift garden. Sakura had to admit Ino possessed unique flowers, some which she hasn't even seen before. Sakura hardly noticed when Ino came behind her.

"Guess what I snagged." Ino called out to Sakura. She held a handful multifaceted diamonds cupped in her hand. Sakura looked nervously across her shoulder. Maybe she should have thought about her decision a bit more.

_PAST_

"Well this is a prodigious space, at least more than enough space for just one. You can crash here as well. Just think of us as the Robin Hoods of Konoha, except we just share the loot among ourselves," Ino exclaimed after both of them poured their hearts out to each other about their dire past. Ino wasn't a kidnapper, but a bandit. _'Now what are the odds of that?'_ Sakura hesitated at first, but thinking about how alone she was these past few months she couldn't bear going back to her old life.

_PRESENT_

"Ino-pig, hush and put those away for Pete's sake!" She muttered under her breath, making sure only Ino heard.

"What was that forehead?" Ino replied. Before Sakura could duress to counter her, Ino continued, "Come on, Konoha Police is practically not a threat. I heard around the streets the chief of police Fugaku retired and left his eldest son to take over. And I haven't even said the best part yet, the son has barely reached manhood! We're simply taking candy from a baby."

0o0o0o0o0oo0

POV Itachi

With their parents gone, the house was unusually silent. At least the oppressing atmosphere surrounding their father was gone. After sparring for an hour or two, Itachi ordered out. With dinner finished, Sasuke glanced at his watch. Suddenly Sasuke's phone rang, slicing through the silence. Itachi raised his eyebrow, but said nothing, and resumed reading or at least trying to read. Through the tiny speakers of the phone he could hear a pitched voice exclaim how Sasuke had come for some reason. The conversation was clearly one-sided, with Sasuke sprinkling a few "hns" here and there. Itachi's eyebrow twitched as he tried to finish his book.

"Itachi," Sasuke said, disrupting Itachi's concentration, "I'm going to Naruto's place. The baka needs me," Sasuke exclaimed feigning annoyance. Itachi nodded, as Sasuke drew his keys out and shut the front door behind him. As Itachi was alone in the dimly lit house, he retired to bed quickly hardly bothering to stay up for his parents.

0o0o0o0o0oo0

POV Sakura

'_I think this is the house Ino said that would be easy to rob. Why am I doing a solo mission, again?'_ Sakura thought full of remorse. According to Ino, the residents in this house are usually in vacation this time of year so it should be fairly easy. She slipped through the gates, unnoticed. She looked up awed at the house she gazed upon. Shaking her head she made her way up to a opaque window in the back. She was surprised as to how effortlessly it opened. She crouched down and was able to squeeze through with ease. _'I guess my malnutrition came to use,' _she noted wryly. Squinting she made her way through the house and landed in the master bedroom. As quickly as she could, before the feeling of guilt washed upon her, she snatched anything small her eyes assessed as valuable. She dumped everything into the pouch Ino handed her. 'Ok, done. I guess I'll leave now.' She then had a feeling of uneasiness wash over her. _'Although none of the tenants are here I should probably be careful around everything,'_ Sakura mentally thought as she noticed many extravagant fragile objects lined the room.

Trying to be as inconspicuous as she could, Sakura unwittingly collided with one of the great tall glass vases. The circular bottom of the vase rotated once before it tipped over and crashed, separating into an amalgam of small and large fragments. Sakura winced at the thunderous sound which now resonated throughout the house. Cautious, she held her breath, for fear she would be caught. She let out a small sigh of relief, only to be inert by the sound of a door creaking slowly.

"Shisui are you drunk again? Because if you are, I swear I'm not covering up for you th…" The slender male stopped talking abruptly quite aware he was in the presence of a female, definitely not his Shishu. He blinked once, twice, wondering if he saw properly. He could see the woman, no, the girl tremble slightly as she met his stark gaze for a moment.

Sakura squeaked, stifling the urge to scream as he looked at her accusingly. Her jade eyes averted from his eyes to a semi-large sized pouch her right hand was clutching. His wariness was replaced with alertness, yet Sakura could see him pause for a second.

Sakura mentally slapped herself. _'Way to give myself away. If only I was better at subtlety. At least he doesn't know I'm in incognito mode right now.'_ Her left hand made its way up to her dyed black hair. Her green eyes quickly flashed up to the male figure. The moon incandescently brightened a portion of the spacious room; the light was enough to bath both her and the figure with light. She clasped on to the pouch tighter.

Despite the darkness, he could make out some of girl's features. Through the window, the full moon's white glow hovered over her, aiding his sight. This girl was significantly younger than him; she was probably his younger brother's age. He was distinctly taller than her.

No time to spare she stepped quickly around the shards of glass, her midnight black hair oscillating in the process, and ran towards the door. As she ran the glass crunched upon the cream tiled floor, some large shards even managed to pierce through her shoes, but that did not matter; escaping was her first priority. As she glanced behind her, she noticed the figure fumble for the lights, but she made it out the door just in time. Considering the situation, she abandoned her clandestine motives and slammed the door on the way out. As she gathered her breath, she heard the clinking of glass and yells as the figure approached. She summoned whatever vim she had left and utilized it for what she would recall as the sprint of her life. The trepidation of being caught fueled her speed as she escaped.

Conscious of what he was wearing, also aware he couldn't catch up to her now, made Itachi resign at the task of catching her. Instead he stood at the edge of their compound and yelled furiously, "Come back!" _'Baka' _

The Uchiha household remained painfully quiet after the girl's departure. Itachi walked back into his house analyzing the mess, _'there's glass everywhere. And mom's obviously going to be angry'_ The intricate tall vase that once stood proudly on display was now nothing but a bunch of paltry shards. He dryly noted how his right foot was cut as thin lines of red now laced the bottom of his foot. With the lights on the shards of glass appeared to sparkle, but there was one distinct thing that caught his eye.


	3. Here We Go Again

Amidst all the clear fragments, lay a simple velvet pouch fraying along the edges. In fact it was the exact same one as the thief held within her own hands. He picked up the pouch, feeling the heaviness of his mother's pearls and jewels and his father's gold plated chains. _'Some thief alright … she didn't get caught but she also didn't get any of our things either.' _

Sakura slowed down in front of the abandoned flower warehouse. She crouched down as she caught her breath. She heavily exhaled and inhaled. As she began to walk down the worn down path she felt an immediate trenchant pain in her right foot. She continued walking dragging her foot with her into the hideaway. She entered exhausted into the dim warehouse. She then became vaguely aware that she felt like she was missing something. She examined her hands and then it clicked, no longer did she possess the violet pouch. Her anxiety as well as effort was in vain. She absentmindedly continued walking until she reached her "bed."

Upon Sakura's arrival Ino looked towards her. She exclaimed, "Hey how did your first solo mission g-" Ino stopped abruptly after seeing Sakura wince in pain. Sakura would have laughed at how fast Ino's face became serious if not for the numb feeling spreading through her foot. Carefully extracting the shard and her shoe, Sakura analyzed the situation. Apparently the cut wasn't threatening, but it still was deep. As a result Sakura would have cope with a turgid foot for a few hours.

With her foot all patched up, she sighed. Ino glanced once more at Sakura. Ino patiently heard Sakura's story. After hearing all the details, Ino exclaimed, "You stole or at least got away from the Uchiha's house! Only one family fits the description of the guy you had seen!"

"The same Uchihas who are a part of the Konoha Police Department?" Sakura questioned.

"Yes, the very same…" Ino replied.

"Well, honestly this night alone was enough excitement alone for me to retire at stealing, one day into it." Sakura states.

"Look maybe we should both relax for a while, it's been a bit tense. Anyway we have enough money to last us a few months. Why don't we go to the city school, Konoha High?" Ino asks excitedly.

"Um … aren't forgetting some important details?" Sakura solicits tugging her dyed hair. '_Agh how long will this black dye last'_ she thinks.

"Don't worry about that; let's just say I've got some friend in high places." Ino said as she winked.

'_Here we go again,'_ Sakura thinks rolling her eyes. _'Let's just hope trouble doesn't follow me again.'_

0o0o0o0

Itachi was leaning against the post of his younger brother's high school, Konoha High. Today was Friday; every last Friday of the month the Uchiha family throws a party, which both Sasuke and Itachi must bear through. Their mother insists they both come early during parties so "both her handsome boys" can prepare for the guests. Honestly, there wasn't much to prepare for; usually, Sasuke and Itachi would be isolated in their rooms and ignore everybody. It was on this singular day of every month Itachi would quietly wait for Sasuke- it actually became somewhat of a habit, not to mention the perfect time for brotherly bonding. Yet, Itachi's thoughts were elsewhere today. His mouth set in a deep frown indicating he was obviously in a bad mood. Although the matter occurred over two weeks ago, his father didn't let him live it down. This morning Fugaku mentioned the event sarcastically stating that Itachi can't even protect his own household.

The school bell rang, drifting Itachi away from his thoughts as a cluster of students exited through the main entrance. _'Heavens, the students are like a stampede of bulls,'_ Itachi dryly noted. Itachi inclined his head, looking for his brother through the mass of black, brown, and blond hair. It was then Itachi spotted something… no someone, _'that girl!'_


	4. Baka Me

Sasuke left the classroom at a casual pace. He was more grim than usual; today is the last Friday of the month, _'mom's going to throw another party' _All his other classmates sped ahead of him, except one particular person. "Stop that right now dobe or I'm going to tear your finger off!" Sasuke sharply said, without looking up. Sasuke was not in the mood for Naruto's antics.

"I'm not touching you Sasuke-teme." Naruto replied with a grin on his face and his pointer finger hovering over his shoulder. Still, to play it safe, Naruto retrieved his hand and placed it behind his head, his other hand clasped on the back of his head as well. Through the slits of his black bangs Sasuke noticed Naruto still wore a huge grin on his face. This only angered Sasuke further in the process.

'_Baka.'_ Sasuke continued walking, _'at least Friday saves me from all those fangirls if not from Naruto.' _

Naruto kept up to Sasuke's slow pace, still wearing a relaxed smile on his face. His bright blue eyes sparkled with mischief, until the light was extinguished with a new fascination. Sasuke tilted his head upward, noticing Naruto pause. Sasuke followed Naruto's and many others' gaze towards …. _'Itachi?'_

Itachi walked fast, if not ran, towards the girl from that night. _'So she's in Sasuke's school.'_ The girl wore the regular attire of Konoha High; she had on a crisp white shirt underneath the proud kunai emblem of her blue vest, which tucked in her knee length blue pleated skirt. She softly padded along with her white shoes rhythmically hitting against the pavement.

"Oi," Itachi said while firmly placed a hand on her shoulder, halting her movements. The girl's hair swayed slightly as her eyes met with Itachi.

"H-h-ai," was the one word she stuttered out, off guard. Seeing Itachi's cold glance she looked down.

Itachi's sweat dropped, _'this is the wrong girl.'_ Her black hair was the same length and she looked she had the previous girl's figure from the back, but face revealed the truth. Her eyes contained white that seemed to consume it whole, an astonishing sight really. The other girl's eyes were unique too, but they were green not opal white. The girl immediately looked down in a coy manner, aware that Itachi has been looking at her intently for a full minute now. She was beginning to tremble, and a deep red color rushed into her cheeks. "Um… Uchica-san," she began slowly ", can you please remove your hand," she quickly continued. Itachi was too jumbled up in his own thoughts to actually hear what she had just said. His hand remained on her shoulder as he looked down depressingly. Meanwhile the girl herself felt like she was going to faint.

"Sasuke-teme, does your brother have a thing for Hinata-chan?" Naruto spoke out too loud, disrupting the momentary silence that engulfed the crowd of students. A few of the girls enviously looked at Hinata. Sasuke pounded the side of his fist against Naruto, giving Naruto one of his famous glares. Hinata's blush deepened before she broke away from a frozen Itachi and ran away, her feet shuffling in the process.

Itachi mentally palm faced himself. _'I'm a complete baka.' _Itachi finally placed his hand down and looked away to only face Konoha High's students gaping at him. The silence was so awkwardly silent that Itachi sworn he could have heard a pin drop. Naruto peered at Sasuke, who seemed to have embarrassment emanating from his usual stoical persona.

The shock within Itachi's eyes quickly attenuated. Itachi regained his stoic composure and placed his hands in his pocket, while keeping his eyes fixed towards the exit. As he turned, he said calmly, "Sasuke, I'll meet you at the house." He raised his hand for a brief moment as if to say goodbye before he left the school premise. In silence he walked on, oblivious to everything else.

oOoOoOo

Sakura was making her way back from the local shop with medical kit her hand. Ino kept up pace and was exclaiming how clumsy Sakura was while all Sakura gave her an angry glance. As Sakura thumped Ino in the back of the head with her kit, she suddenly collided with something. Sakura rubbed her shoulder in a histrionic manner after she bumped into a stranger.

Itachi hardly noticed as he bumped his shoulder against this bubbly pink haired girl. Caught up in his thoughts he moved forward with his hands in his pocket without glancing towards her direction.

Before she could react, the figure made his way past her, not bothering to stop. Meanwhile Ino broke into a fit of laughter, screaming, "Karma!"

Sakura turned around slanting her eyes as she focused on the back of the receding figure, before huffing and turning away.

OoOoOoO

Nearly fifteen minutes later Sakura found herself abandoned as Ino shoved some money in her hands and told her to get dinner so Ino could meet up with her friends in Konoha High to see if we could be squeezed in somehow. Alone Sakura simply sighed. The crisp bills that she held within her hand were only enough for a small meal, usually ramen or bread. Counting the bills, she headed towards Ichiraku Ramen. Before she knew it, her head collided with something hard and she fell backwards. Before she hit the pavement, a fast hand grabbed her wrist. Just as quickly she was caught, she was let go. Caught off guard, she fell, her rear painfully scraped against the pavement._ 'Ow.'_ The strange boy burst her thoughts by roughly saying, "Hey, watch where you're going."

Sakura huffed angrily. Her pink hair swayed back in defiance. "What did you say?" Even her orbs slanted as if challenging him. Looking up, she instantly froze as her eyes registered that before her was an Uchica. After last week she could recognize those distinct features anywhere. '_Oh no, oh no… did he recognize me?_'

Sasuke witnessed the girl's attitude switch from fury to shock to downright scared. Yet, what threw him off was that out off all of those emotions she directed towards him, awe was not one of them.

A blond boy with prominent markings on both of his cheeks appeared behind Sasuke. "Sasuke-teme, you're still here? I thought you had to catch up with your brother at home…" Naruto stopped abruptly with a mouthful of ramen in his mouth. He quickly looked back and forth between the two, but then paused to further scrutinize Sakura. Still dazed, Sakura was still sprawled across the ground.

"Sa..Sak…Sakura?" Her head shifted to the blond, who up until this point, she didn't pay attention to.

"Naruto?" Sakura said as recognition rang through her voice.

**Author's Note:**

**One word: REVIEW … OR Not (tech. not one word- I know) But note to all who are reading: this is probably last time I'm publishing for this story or any story in particular. (90% possibility)**

**-Anamaniac0**


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